Raw Magazine December 2004
Like many bodybuilders, Batista makes good use of dumbbells in his workouts. The weights that the behemoth employs, however, are far from the norm.
Not surprisingly, Batista's first job out of high school was at the Olympus Gym in Falls Church, Virginia -- a virtual half-acre jungle of steel plates, dumbbells, and other weightlifting equipment -- where he still trains to this day. Recently, Raw Magazine was fortunate enoug to catch Batista training at Olympus during an intense Thursday afternoon session in hopes of uncovering how he built his maginifcent physique.
"I don't concentrate on training heavy anymore," says Batista, while he finishes his stretching and warm-up routine. "I've pretty much got the size that I want -- I don't really want to get any bigger -- so I mainly train to stay in shape, maintain and refine. I just get in the gym when I can, because my lifestyle is pretty hectic."
While Batista doesn't max out with his exercises, there was a point in his career when he was heavier and threw around incredible weight. Some of his previous accomplishments include both squatting and dead-lifting over 700 pounds, and benching 525 pounes, which Batista claims was no easy feat, considering his exceptionally long arms.
Like many of his peers, including Chris Benoit and Triple H, Batista trains only select body parts on certain days. Generally, he'll work his chest and arms one day, back and shoulders another, and then finally, legs. He alternates between those three routines, in order, while also mixing in miscellaneous exercises, such as his abs, neck and forearms. Generally, Batista does three to four exercises for each body part, and spends about 90 minutes in the gym per day, depending on his schedule.
While Batista perfers free weights, his recent injuries -- including a torn triceps muscle -- have forced him to use more machines, as they better balance and regulate his strength. Still, when it comes time for the big man to train select muscles, there's no substitue for the old-school dumbbells.